Lax Recruitment Process Leaving Businesses At Risk

45% of employees admit they have previously submitted false information on their CV

UK small businesses are leaving themselves at risk to stunted growth and potential legal action, due to a lax recruitment process – according to a report by Xref.

The Xref Referencing and Recruitment Risk Index,which surveyed 1,000 UK employees and job-seekers, has revealed that 23.5% were not asked for either a character or employment reference when they most recently applied for a job – with 23% admitting their referee was never actually contacted.

Worryingly, 45% of respondents even confessed they have lied to a potential employer, with the most common embellishments concerning their work experience (36%) and qualifications (28%).

An important consideration for businesses, 48% of those surveyed admit they deliberately exploited careless recruitment practices – with 32% deliberately choosing a good reference rather than the most appropriate one.

However, its not just potential workers who are to blame – as sloppy employers are also asking the wrong questions, some of which are even illegal.

Indeed, 30% of referees surveyed say they’ve been asked potentially discriminatory questions about a candidate, including their age (25%), and their marital status (14%).

Lee-Martin Seymour, founder and CEO of Xref, said:

“Its clear corners are being cut during the recruitment period, allowing dishonest candidates to take advantage of flaws in the traditional hiring processes.

“These figures highlight the need for an overhaul of the old, tired reference checking methods most UK businesses still rely on, and should act as a wakeup call to any that see no risk in avoiding the critical hiring step altogether.

“Given how time consuming chasing reference checks can be and the fact it’s often left to the most junior person on the team – or even someone with no experience in HR – it can often lead to a variety of errors.

“From ignoring the reference checking process entirely, to rushing it or not knowing the correct questions to ask, all disregard for the process leaves organisations open to the risk of, at best, a bad hire and, at worst, egal implications.”

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